


Your Face In A Locket

by cozypancakes



Category: 19天 - Old先 | 19 Days - Old Xian
Genre: M/M, Romance, a couple years after high school, he tian starts to get insecure about their relationship, he tian travels a lot for reasons, mo has trouble showing feelings even after all this time, the aquarium picture makes an appearance, which is essentially in the friends with benefits stage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-10-10 00:27:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17415488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cozypancakes/pseuds/cozypancakes
Summary: The modern day equivalent to having a picture of your significant other in a locket is having a picture of them as your phone background. Or if you have trouble admitting your feelings and showing affection, it would be having a special picture as that person's contact image.





	Your Face In A Locket

**Author's Note:**

> So, I was supposed to start the soulmate au I had in mind, but then the update happened and I was inspired.

They’d fucked. They almost always fucked. Mo would sometimes complain about it, playing hard to get or feigning disinterest. But one way or another they ended up in a bed (or a bathroom stall, once). 

The sex was amazing. He Tian couldn’t possibly complain about that. It wasn’t that he wanted to stop having sex. But sometimes, especially the times where his visits dragged on for days rather than hours, he wished the sex wasn’t the main part of their relationship. He wouldn’t mind some cuddling. Any form of affection that wasn’t fueled by lust. They didn’t see each other only for sex, but sex was always a part of the package. Occasionally, Mo Guan Shan cooked for him. Though going out for dinner or anything resembling a date never happened. 

He Tian was completely in love with Mo. Yet their relationship fell squarely in the “friends with benefits” category. And He Tian didn’t want to push, not in this regard. Mo needed to go at his own pace and He Tian respected that. Sometimes He Tian wished he would get some kind of clue. Anything that would let him know Mo didn’t want him just for the sex. 

These thoughts filled He Tian’s head as he got dressed. He needed to be at the airport in thirty minutes and it took twenty-five minutes to drive there. Mo was behind him, idly scrolling through his phone. Their goodbyes would sometimes be awkward. He Tian would want nothing more than to wrap Mo in a hug and tell him he’d be counting down the minutes till he could be back. Mo was never as responsive to open acts of emotion though. So instead, He Tian would settle for one last, deep kiss. 

He pulled on his coat and checked his pockets. Keys, passport, wallet...He Tian checked his inner pockets and then moved to his pants pockets. Where had he left his phone? He looked over at the night stand and then started moving the pillows and sheets on the bed. 

“What are you doing?” Mo asked. 

“Can’t find my phone,” He Tian explained. He hadn’t really spent much time around the apartment other than on the bed but he ventured through the living space and small kitchen anyway. “Fuck,” He Tian mumbled. It would be such a fucking pain to  travel without his phone. He wandered back towards the bed, eyes scanning every surface. 

“Here,” Mo called out, “Call your phone.” Mo handed over his phone. He Tian should have thought of that. He took Mo’s offered phone and quickly pulled up his contact info and pressed call. 

The urgency to find his phone fell to the floor along with his heart as his contact photo took over the screen. Mo got up from the bed and started looking for the source of He Tian’s vibrating phone, but He Tian was rooted to the spot. On Mo’s phone was a picture that he knew all too well. It had been taken years ago by He Tian himself. It was, in his mind, their first ‘date’. He Tian stared at his and Mo’s faces on the screen. The blue walls and corny, hanging fishes took up the background. He Tian had his arm around Mo, a wide smile on his face. Mo had a blush across his cheeks. 

_ “I could never forget you.” _

It was one of the hand full of photos He Tian had of both himself and Mo. They looked so much younger in the photo and so many things had changed since then. Though Mo’s veiled attempts at declaring his feelings hadn’t really improved with time. 

“Hey! I found your phone,” Mo spoke up. He Tian moved his gaze from the screen up to Mo. A wicked grin spread across his face. Mo instantly had his guard up. “What?”

“Nice contact photo,” He Tian said. He Tian loved the red that once again spread across Mo’s face, like in the photo. “I don’t remember ever sending that to you, though.” 

“It was ages ago,” Mo mumbled. “Give me back my phone.” 

“Sure thing,” He Tian walked over to Mo and swapped phones. But before Mo could move away, He Tian wrapped his arm around his shoulder and brought him into his side. “I think it’s time we update that photo, don’t you think?” He didn’t wait for Mo to respond before he had the camera open on his phone and was raising it to the right height. 

“Seriously?” Mo asked, annoyed. Yet he wasn’t moving away from He Tian or fighting him. He Tian felt like he was on cloud nine. He leaned his head onto Mo’s and snapped a photo. His happiness made him a bit more daring. He moved his head to give a light kiss to Mo’s temple and took another photo. He was ready to pull away and say his goodbyes when he felt Mo move. The redhead turned his head and kissed He Tian on the lips. He returned the kiss while getting a bursts of images on his camera. Once he was sure he’d have plenty to choose from, He Tian lowered his phone and wrapped his arms around Mo more securely. The redhead returned his embrace. They continued kissing until they were both breathless. He Tian buried his face in Mo’s neck when they stopped kissing. Mo’s hand came to rest on He Tian’s neck and he began running his hands through He Tian’s hair. It was a simple gesture but it felt like the most intimate thing they’d done when neither of them were in some way overwhelmed by their emotions. 

“I’ll be back soon,” He Tian promised. He’d almost forgotten he had a flight to catch. 

“You’d better,” Mo mumbled. He Tian did nothing to hide his wide smile. 

Mo cared. In his own way, but there was no doubt in He Tian’s mind that he cared. That was all he needed to know. He’d give Mo all the time in the world to love him back the way He Tian craved to openly love him. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Go follow me on twitter @cozypancakes so you can get random updates about my writing. 
> 
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated!


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